Snake Bite Ceremony from Billy Jack

One of the more memorable scenes in the film is the ceremony where Billy becomes a ‘brother to the snake’. The scene was overseen by Rolling Thunder who had been through the ceremony himself, and guided many others.

Every time I saw the film in a theater, the audience jumped en masse when the snake makes its first strike. From then on, half the audience buried their heads, and the other half’s mouths were hanging open.